Round 1 – UFC debut for Tucker, and he’s fired up. He goes right to the middle and kicks Sicilia’s lead leg. Then he tries to push forward with a punch and kicks the leg again. Tucker kicks high, but it’s blocked. He comes again with another high kick a minute in, then right back to Sicilia’s lead leg. Sicilia touches Tucker up with a right counter. Two minutes in, Tucker is proving a little tough for Sicilia to get a read on and line up to hit. But he’s pushing forward and just misses with a heavy right. Tucker kicks to the body, then again harder. He bounces outside nicely, which is making it hard for Sicilia to track him down. Tucker kicks high, but Sicilia blocks it. Then Sicilia gets a nice right hand through and a leg kick of his own. Whenever Sicilia gets close to Tucker in terms of chasing him down, he’s quickly out of there. Tucker lands a knee late, but Sicilia catches it. It’s a 10-9 first round for the newcomer, Tucker.
Round 2 – Tucker starts with kicks again and lands to the body, then the lead leg. Ninety seconds in, Tucker lands a kick to the leg, then nearly catches Sicilia flush in the face with one. Again, he goes to the lead leg. Sicilia’s problem has been getting Tucker to stand still enough to do any damage. He clips him with a punch, and Tucker wipes it away and showboats a little bit. Sicilia tags him with a right, but Tucker still is right there. Tucker is asking Sicilia to land on him. He kicks high, but Sicilia blocks it. A right hand for Sicilia gets through. Not much down the stretch, but it’s another 10-9 round for Tucker.
Round 3 – Sicilia probably needs to get a finish if he wants to leave with a win. He hasn’t found Tucker much yet tonight, so he’ll have to put something together. He seems to stun Tucker a little bit with a right, then gets inside to tie him up for the first time in the fight. But they break apart after 15 seconds and go back to the middle. Sicilia lands a right and pushes Tucker to the cage. With three minutes left, pretty much out of nowhere, Tucker goes for a takedown and gets one. But Sicilia bounces back up quickly and midway through, they’re back in the middle. Sicilia lands a good right, then misses with a 1-2. Tucker scores with a 1-2, and it’s almost like he’s toying with the veteran Sicilia. Sicilia is showing a little wear on his face and looks like he’s running down a bit. Tucker seems to have the same energy as he did in the start. He kicks Sicilia three times then plays around and goes for a roundhouse punch. The crowd loves it. He’s on cruise control toward a win and he dances when Sicilia misses him. He’s laughing at him in the octagon. The crowd erupts at the end, and Tucker puts his arms out and drops to his knees in the center of the cage, confident in victory. He gets a 10-9 third and should have the fight 30-27 in a mostly dominant performance.
Result: Gavin Tucker def. Sam Sicilia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)